en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/2407566 Comments by cac5516 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/21/if-prison-has-taken-anything-away-from-me/#IDComment145228618 After I finished reading “If prison has taken anything away from me” I felt very empty. It was such a somber tale of longing and yearning and knowing that you will never, ever get what you are longing for. It is just sad to me knowing that this man is suffering in such a way. I know that he is clearly a “lifer” and that he is in prison for a specific reason but any story about heartbreak just makes my heart break as well. When reading these stories about the men who have life sentences in prison I am surprised about how much I feel for them and how I can really sympathize with them. It really brings to light just how much we take the important things in life for granted. Love. Love is such a simple thing, whether is be from a friend, a parent, or a lover, it is just a feeling between people, yet these men in prison cannot experience it. While love is simple, it is one of the greatest things we can go through and to have that opportunity stripped from you is just so horribly sad. This post also brings to light a lot of other emotions that men in prison must feel and those feelings are scary. This man is just like “I’ve been here for so long” and he knows that he will keep feeling like that until the end of his life. The days must blend to together because of no significant events to tell each day apart. He must be going crazy knowing that he has nothing to keep him busy but his own thoughts. He speaks of only seeing repeats of his triumphs and more importantly his failures. Those thoughts alone can drive someone crazy, let alone that fact that on top of it he has all of these feelings of longing and need. This was just sad. Since this is my last post I do want to say that I really enjoyed writing these blogs, especially the ones about the “lifers” because it gave students a chance to really see into the lives and minds of people we normally could never have contact with. This has been an extremely rewarding experience. Fri, 22 Apr 2011 22:13:52 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/21/if-prison-has-taken-anything-away-from-me/#IDComment145228618 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/were-you-surprised-to-find-that-business-is-the-factor-that-shapes-immigration-policies-119-blog/#IDComment145191197 I am not surprised at all by the fact that business is what determines our policies on illegal immigration. I think that the biggest problem that most people have regarding immigration is that they think that all of the illegal immigrants are taking our jobs. They think that Americans are being left with no jobs. These feelings definitely peaked during the Recession when people were desperately searching for jobs anywhere they could find them. While I do understand that people are struggling for work, I do think that before the Recession most Americans thought they were “too good” for the jobs that illegal immigrants currently hold. Now that illegal immigrants have so many jobs in the United States of course there are going to be stricter policies regarding coming to this country. I do not exactly know where I stand regarding illegal immigrants. I always hate to see anyone getting hurt or anyone not getting a chance in life, but at the same time I do understand why some people would not want illegal immigrants in our country. It is hard to compete with people who are willing to work for lower wages and who are going to work as hard as they possibly can. These illegal immigrants are also not putting the money they earn back into America to help stimulate the economy. They are instead sending the money they earn back to their families in order to help support them. So I do see why people are so against the illegal immigrants because in the end we do have to look after ourselves and our families also. I think that in general Americans have just become so lazy and selfish that they are unwilling to take jobs that they consider “unworthy.” I think it is important that Americans stop thinking they are so high and mighty when in reality they are struggling to find work. All of these jobs that people would not touch with a nine foot pole are suddenly looking like dream jobs. There is also the issue of large corporations having a say in the government. No matter how much people try to deny it, the fact is that big business has so much control over what goes on in the government that it is scary. We live in a society where we think that we are free but in reality we are being controlled by the rich and the rich will do anything to stay rich and keep the have-nots from getting to the upper class. The have-nots are being mind warped into thinking that we choose, but we don’t. It is hard to have a full grasp on what to think about illegal immigration because honestly I do not have any personal experience to go off of. I do know that if I wanted to better my family I would do almost anything to do it. Fri, 22 Apr 2011 19:09:24 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/were-you-surprised-to-find-that-business-is-the-factor-that-shapes-immigration-policies-119-blog/#IDComment145191197 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/14/what-do-you-think-about-the-telephone-game-and-why-does-information-travel-that-way-119-blog/#IDComment143258366 I thought today’s lecture was extremely interesting and engaging. It reminded me more of Sam’s earlier lectures when he would do more participation activities such as the one where the two girls had to organize the students into categories based on what race they thought they were. It was fun to see a new twist on a game everyone played as a child (or sometimes even now). I have seen this experiment done before but the story had to do with a robbery. In that game the races of the robbers were never mentioned yet as each person kept telling the story they would say the robbers were black. It is interesting to see how stories can really change as they go through the channels. The lecture in class, though, brought up something different besides just race. It really showed how people tend to shorten stories over time and maybe even points out how little we pay attention to detail. It kind of opens your eyes to think about how just stories we hear in our day to day lives change significantly. We may never really know the full story if we do not hear it from the original source. As a girl I have dealt with plenty of gossip and just girls being typical catty girls and this exercise made me wonder about how maybe some fights could have been avoided if we just paid attention to detail or maybe just listened to the full story. Changing details without even noticing it is so easy to do. With adding different races into the story, it changed the game as well. You could tell that sometimes a white student telling the story to a black student was a little bit uncomfortable when talking about the fight between the black and white students. Sometimes the white students would even leave out the word “black” but the black students never did. This can go back to lectures in the past when Sam spoke about how we never really know what to call each other. The guest speaker did use the word African American, but it was quickly switched to the word “black” when the story got passed down the line. This may not say much about racial differences but it does show how we like to shorten things and make telling stories easier. Besides this question, I really did enjoy today’s lecture and I am happy that Sam invites people to speak because sometimes things need to be shaken up a bit. I liked the way the lecturer used the drawing experiment to show that in order to except other people we need to learn to let go. It is so true but sometimes it is hard to do. Sat, 16 Apr 2011 00:21:13 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/14/what-do-you-think-about-the-telephone-game-and-why-does-information-travel-that-way-119-blog/#IDComment143258366 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/11/transgendered-complications/#IDComment143243009 I think that the hardest part about stories such as this man who was fired from his job because he is a transgender is that sometimes I really do think that we have come so far in society only then to see a story such as this. I do understand that we have come a long way, I just do not get why things like this have to be a big deal anymore. Especially in a state such as New Jersey, which I always believed to be an extremely progressive state, it is sad to see this. I think that the man’s decision to speak out against this woman was a smart move. Issues surrounds gays, lesbians, and transsexuals are very prominent at the moment and I think that as much attention that can be brought to the unfairness is a good thing. This man needs to supports himself and his child, yet he is having difficulty keeping his low-paying part-time job. This makes me wonder what it is like for people who are transgender to find higher paying jobs or careers. It is scary how much hate and discrimination is out there. The man’s boss also overstepped her boundaries when she demanded to know if he had any surgeries and what they were. She was out of line and should see some sort of consequence of those actions. What would have happened if he was born a man but he was a homosexual, would he have gotten the same treatment? The private lives of individuals should remain exactly that, private. If he was doing his job correctly than it should not matter what his legal gender used to be. Obviously these points are always made yet people continue to discriminate against people who are different than them. Maybe we will continue to move forward and eventually get to a time where it will not be as difficult for people who may not live what some people consider a “normal life.” But then again, once an issue gets resolved, there is always something else to move on to. I hope this man finds the justice he is looking for and no longer has to suffer because of other people’s hate. Fri, 15 Apr 2011 23:01:44 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/11/transgendered-complications/#IDComment143243009 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/03/what-a-man-is/#IDComment141064994 This post was really powerful to me. It is sort of funny because there are always jokes about what men do for intimacy once they are in jail but I really wonder if people really stop to think about what happens to these men as they begin to change in prison and how their views on relationships change. When this man had a relationship he thought it had to be only about sex and money because that is what he saw around him in the media. Now that he does not have it he realizes that he should have just embraced the relationship and been honest and sincere and loving. I think that everything C. mentioned in his post is really exactly what most women are looking for in a man or just a relationship in general. We do not want the “badass” or someone who is going to ignore us. Being with someone is one of the most natural things we can do, yet we shy away from it or we play games with each other. Why do we do these things? Why not just be honest and show your feelings. It is bittersweet that it took this man a life sentence in prison to really see what a relationship should be. Yes he is in prison, but at least now he sees how he should have treated the women in his life, whether it be a lover or a family member. I think he also realizes that there are not just the things women want, but what he wants also. He just wants someone to love and to feel affection from. It is just nice to know that you have someone at home that you can go back and just lay and talk with. Stories like this always make me sad. I do not know what C. is in prison for and I do not know how much he has changed, but hearing about his yearn for another or his regret over his past experiences with women really saddens me. I never want to see a person feeling lonely or regretful of relationships because if we don’t have good relationships in our life then we really don’t have anything. Fri, 8 Apr 2011 19:06:34 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/03/what-a-man-is/#IDComment141064994 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/07/do-you-agree-with-foreign-aids-use-of-pictures-of-children-119-blog/#IDComment141061934 I agree with Ernso when he says that photos and videos of poor children should not be used to help gain foreign aid. We try so hard to protect children today and to make sure that they are not being taken advantage of. I understand that it is a tactic used to encourage people to donate money because children are the one thing that everyone in the world can sympathize with. These kids, in a way, are being exploited in front of the rest of the world. They are being used to so the rest of the world feels for them and donates their money. How is it fair, though, that the rest of the world looks at them from afar and sees their struggles and pains? I know that I would not want others seeing my personal struggles and then feeling pity on me. I get that is it difficult to get people to really see the struggles families in Haiti go through on a day-to-day basis, but it is never OK to use our children to do so. We see images of them crying and hurting and vulnerable. I know that many families in America would never want their children on a television screen for the world to see, let alone showing them in their most vulnerable state. How can people expect that respect of their own children when people think nothing of shooting videos of Haitian children barely being able to get by every day. This situation kind of reminds me of Kevin Carter and his picture of the emancipated girl in South Africa. Kevin Carter was a photojournalist infamous for shooting pictures of an emancipated toddler as a vulture stood in the distance stalking her and waiting for her to die. Kevin Carter received much backlash for watching the girl for twenty minutes instead of helping her. The photograph ended up winning Carter a Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography, however, many people feel as if the act of taking the photograph was disgusting and he might as well have been a vulture himself. While this may not be the same situation, he was still taking pictures in order to raise awareness in South Africa during the Apartheid period. This young girl is just like all the other children being featured on television. I think that it also gives a distorted view of Haiti. Yes, they are struggling, but as Ernso said, they really just need jobs. Donating money is wonderful, but if we could give a little bit of time to helping a business flourish, it would mean so much more than donating ten dollars. Like they say, “give a man a fish and he won’t be hungry for a day, teach a man to fish and he won’t be hungry for the rest of his life.” Fri, 8 Apr 2011 18:51:20 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/07/do-you-agree-with-foreign-aids-use-of-pictures-of-children-119-blog/#IDComment141061934 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/15/social-structure-shapes-free-will/#IDComment139230702 This video was very fascinating to me. It is easy to look at this video really quickly and think that women are finally surpassing men in society, but underneath it is really no freer for the woman than if a man were to have multiple wives. To us it may seem sort of crazy because we see so much polygamy on televisions, whether it be on cable or a reality show, and never once do we ever see a woman with more than one husband, it is always the other way around. I think that a lot of women, especially feminists, might find this relieving or a “breath of fresh air.” Even in such an advanced society such as ours, women still take a backseat to many men. Women are still assumed to stay home and take care of the children or to not work and just clean the house all day. This is not the case for every household, but it is still very common. In this society though, the roles are reversed. I was not as shocked by this situation as I thought I would be. I do not personally even care for polygamy at all either but for some reason I enjoyed this segment. Maybe inside I am slightly rooting for any woman who is able to overcome any gender boundaries. I know this particular situation is not about women being on top, it is just their culture, but there is sort of a sense of a win for women when we see husbands staying home and cleaning, cooking, and taking care of the children. Despite all these pangs of “women finally winning” in my heart, I do realize that there is still a sense of entrapment for the women and even the men as well. These women do not take multiple husbands because they enjoy it; it is because of the population restrictions in their society. It is hard for me to judge whether this is right or wrong and really I have no place to judge these people. At the end of the video the women explains how it is all so family oriented and how peaceful they are, who could really argue with that? Fri, 1 Apr 2011 23:54:48 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/15/social-structure-shapes-free-will/#IDComment139230702 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/31/has-the-class-on-the-needy-penis-made-you-uncomfortable-and-why-119-blog/#IDComment139215988 The “Needy Penis” lecture was one of my favorite lectures of the semester. Most of our lectures are extremely serious and cover a lot of sensitive topics. Because our lectures revolve mostly around racial issues, not every single person can really relate to some of the things we cover in class. I do not want this to be taken wrong, because I do thoroughly love Soc 119, but as a white female I do sometimes need to take myself out of my own head and body to understand some of the issues going on with different races. The “needy” penis, however, is a lecture that almost everyone in the room can understand because most people are either sexually active or they plan on being sexually active at some point in their lives. I personally was not uncomfortable with the lecture at all. I actually already heard to lecture in my Soc 001 class earlier in the semester, and I could not wait to hear it again. I think a lot of people are so uncomfortable with the topics covered in the “Needy Penis” because the subject of sex is so taboo in American society. All of our childhood lives we are shunned from sex and learning about sex. We hear all the dangers of it, but never really the benefits. The fact is that sex is a huge part of our lives and one of the most natural things we can do, but it always causes people to lower their voices or look around to make sure no one else is listening in. It is because we do not talk about it enough that many people are uncomfortable talking about it. It is also the reason that many women feel so unsatisfied with their sex lives. What may actually be worse is that men really have no idea that their partner is unsatisfied. I do not blame the men in any way, it is just that in such a male driven world there really is not much material out there for men to become familiar about the female sex drive with. Since humor was added into the lecture, it was much easier to feel comfortable. Sam and Laurie were so relaxed talking about their own sex lives that I immediately felt comfortable. They really laid it out there and told the class just how things are. If more people were more open and honest about sex it would help other people realize and be open enough to talk to their own partners about their wants and need. This was an important lecture to me. Some people may find it silly, but sex really is important in our lives and in our relationships with others. It’s terrible to think that something so important is so taboo to talk about openly. Fri, 1 Apr 2011 22:49:47 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/31/has-the-class-on-the-needy-penis-made-you-uncomfortable-and-why-119-blog/#IDComment139215988 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/24/b-s-response/#IDComment137544405 It must be difficult to be assumed as a murderer when you are did not in fact murder anyone. While I do not think any of this man’s actions are acceptable, I do understand his frustration with people thinking he murdered another man. It is one thing to be in the presence of a murder, but to take that action into your own hand is a completely different story. I am happy that he spoke up about his feelings on the subject. He is clearly doing very well in prison and it is helping him to recover from his past actions. When hearing about his life now I can sympathize with his feelings on wanting people to know the truth about how he got “LIFE.” This situation may go to show a few people that maybe everything does happen for a reason. This is man has been able to morph himself from an abused drug addict to a “free” man who has finally discovered his true talents. Not every person’s definition of freedom is the same, for some it means own your own home and not being under strict government ruling, while for this man freedom means being free to create. His story is inspirational because despite his bad decisions in the past, he has been able to remain positive and really turn and negatives in his life into something bright and positive. I found it refreshing to hear that after contemplating suicide for a while he was able to push past the pain and become this man who can be proud of how he has turned his life around even though he was sentenced to “LIFE.” I am happy to hear about his reconciliation with his stepfather. Many people would not have been able to do what this man was, which was to be brave enough to forgive and move on to a better relationship. I hope he continues to create, whether is be painting, music, or even ideas for the world. With creation comes hope for the future. Hearing this story it also gives me hope for all the other lifers out there; hope that they too will find peace. Fri, 25 Mar 2011 18:39:30 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/24/b-s-response/#IDComment137544405 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/22/for-the-white-females-would-you-ever-date-a-black-guy-119-blog/#IDComment137336219 I would love to date a black guy! Not only would I date a black guy but I would have no qualms about marrying, having a family, and growing old with a black guy. In fact, the idea of having mixed raced children is extremely appealing to me. I always dreamed of adopting children of different races as well as having my own children. I would love to raise a family where there are no prejudices and everyone is accepting of everyone whether they are black, white, gay or straight. My ideas of family, though, are very different than most other people’s ideas of family. I think that the main challenge with dating a black guy, or any person of a different color than I am for that matter would be the scrutiny we would get from other people. This factor would not necessarily stop me from dating a person from another race but it would be a challenge I would seriously need to think about before I made a serious commitment. Luckily I come from a very accepting family. My mother has always been extremely comfortable with people of different races and cultures and she is really open to a lot of different ideas. My father, on the other hand, was not raised the same way. With a lot of influence from my mother, though, he has changed a lot of his ideas about people of different origins than him. To this day he might crack a joke about race but my mom is quick to correct him. Me dating a black guy might deter him at first, but his main priority is the happiness of his daughters. I am aware that not many people, even in today’s progressive society, do not stand behind bi-racial couples. Many people might say “oh the color of your skin does not matter” or something along those lines, but to be realistic most people do see the color of people’s skin. This is not necessarily a negative thing; it is just a fact in general. It is hard to look at another person and not see the color of their skin first. To me, though, that is what is so great about different races. I love people with different skin colors than I. I would feel out of place if I was not surrounded by people of all different skin tones. Obviously we have come a long way when it comes to race and acceptance, but people still give dirty looks to those mixed race couples. Even in magazines and television commercials we rarely ever see mixed race couples. Sure there are white couples and black couples, but never are they mixed around. It’s sad that this is still and issue but I do believe things will continue to improve in the future. Thu, 24 Mar 2011 21:41:52 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/22/for-the-white-females-would-you-ever-date-a-black-guy-119-blog/#IDComment137336219 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/15/lgbt-families-theres-a-lot-of-fear-out-there/#IDComment135954901 I found this young man who was raised by two lesbian women to be extremely inspiring. As a huge supporter of the LGBT community already, I still felt that many of his points were eye opening for me. In a time when gay marriage is so prevalent and when the LGBT community is under such scrutiny, I think it is important for people to speak out about their personal experiences being raised by homosexual parents. When speaking about marriage and families I was happy to hear this man explain that family is about love and not some stupid marriage certificate. He was brought up in a loving family and that just like any other family they are tied together by love and that is what matters. What struck me the most was when he listed his accomplishments and said that if he were the chairman’s son he would be extremely proud of him. This point was amazing to me because it really showcased that the only difference between him and other successful men his age is the gender of his parents. He even mentioned that in his college class’s people would speak about gay marriage and be completely oblivious to that fact that he was in fact a son of gay parents. What many people do not realize is that members of the LGBT community are so much more like the rest of us than they originally thought. For me, I am baffled by the fact that people can be civil enough to accept others of a different race yet they cannot look past who others marry. What makes whites different from blacks or straights different from homosexuals? There really is no difference and it is about time that other people see this. His speech was infectious and I find it hard to believe that he did not get any people who opposed to maybe think a little harder about two homosexuals raising a child. And to be honest, more kids who come from straight parents end up messed up than kids who come from homosexual families. It is just terrible that this is still an issue in what is supposed to be a progressive society. Sat, 19 Mar 2011 01:45:55 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/15/lgbt-families-theres-a-lot-of-fear-out-there/#IDComment135954901 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/15/have-you-ever-felt-guilt-from-being-of-a-certain-race-119-blog/#IDComment135889248 It is hard to be white and not feel guilt. Even as a white woman I could not imagine the guilt that white men feel. Throughout all of our schooling we are always taught what the white men did in the past to other races. Whether it is about the civil rights movement or our move to America and our problems with the American Indians, white people have always been pinned as the bad guys. I am not saying that white people are not to blame, because I understand all of the tragedies that the white race has brought upon other people, but in my own experience I have never heard a bad word about another race taught in schools. Today, I think that many white people feel guilty about that past and are always on the lookout to “make up for it” or show others that they are not racists. I personally am constantly afraid that others may think I’m a racist so I am always on guard about what I am saying. This also ties in with that fact that I feel almost responsible for the past, even though I have nothing to do with the past that was full of hate. It is also hard to sit through classes sometimes when Sam flashes statistics about all the advantages white people seem get like job offers and education levels just based on the color of their skin. My group of best friends at home is an extremely diverse group with men and women who are Filipino, Chinese, Ecuadorian, and Haitian, and it was difficult for me to grow up with them and seeing some disadvantages they have. They are all smart and nice and engaging, yet I will probably be able to find a job a bit easier just because I am white. I cannot predict a future but it kills me to think that some of my best friends may struggle even in the slightest bit just because of where their family came from. Saying all of this, though, I am extremely proud to be white, just as every person should be proud of their ancestry and where they come from. I am white for a reason and I hate that I sometimes go around feeling guilty about something I was born with when I should be holding my head high. I try not to feel guilty and I don’t always, but it is hard not to when I see so much animosity between races and cultures based on the actions of people who have died decades or even centuries ago. Maybe a bit of this guilt is a good thing, because for some people that guilt is what keeps them from lashing out against other races or just being racist in general. Fri, 18 Mar 2011 19:10:20 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/15/have-you-ever-felt-guilt-from-being-of-a-certain-race-119-blog/#IDComment135889248 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/01/lighting-our-way/#IDComment133934905 This video was quite fascinating to me, especially when most people never really think of this as a problem because it does not affect most of us. Even in our own country this happens; this occurs in the state of Alaska. Some parts of the state have longer sunlight hours in the winter than others, but even in the southern parts they might only get six hours of sunlight each day. This is just another factor that influences how these societies must adapt to these changes. I know that I personally tend to get a bit depressed in the wintertime when the sun sets early; I could not even begin to imagine what it is like for all of these people. What I found really interesting were the different patterns between people in the winter, like weight-gain and long sleep. The darkness really changes a person’s mentality and affects their daily routines. People really can go into major depressions because of the lack of light, which is sort of frightening to think about. Something as simple a light, something we all take for granted everyday, could change a person’s whole outlook on the world. The Season of Light is a really cool way that the Finn’s thought of to embrace the darkness and maybe even add some light to the dark. It actually adds such a beautiful touch to the city and turns what could be gloomy into something that can really brighten a person up. The bright lights that people use are another invention that people use to cheer themselves up. While it does not seem like it may do much, I’m sure that if it were taken away from these people they would see just how much it helps them. Some people even swim in the extremely icy waters in order to help give them a boost, which many of us would find a bit crazy. To these people, though, they are doing everything they can to stay positive in the gloomy situation that is winter. This was an interesting video because it really shows us a problem that many people face in the world and we could not even imagine the side-effects of it. Thu, 10 Mar 2011 21:11:11 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/01/lighting-our-way/#IDComment133934905 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/09/what-would-make-this-guy-less-white/#IDComment133925626 When I first watched this video I honestly did not believe it could be a serious video. After watching it for about a minute or so I realized that this man really was serious and this video was in no way, shape, or form meant to be funny. This realization, though, was my first clue to understanding just how “white” this man is. The man in the video is giving the audience an honest review. There a few other “white” physical traits that the man has such as his haircut, which is short and buzzed on the sides, and his white polo shirt tucked into his light blue jeans are typical “white man” ensemble. We also cannot forget the fact that the whole video is about gun holsters. Guns are very much an American or “white” stereotype and this man is really fueling that fire with this video. The fact that this man has absolutely zero sense of humor does not help him at all either. I would say that many white men are stereotyped as “dull” or “lame” and this man is displaying these exact traits. The only time he seems to try to be “funny” is when he says “When was the last time you caught yourself looking at someone else’s zipper?” and even then he is funny for completely different reasons then he probably intended. At one point he is literally standing in front of a camera with his pants down, which of course he prefaces with “I am wearing running shorts so when I unbutton my pants everything will be fine.” The whole situation just comes off as completely awkward instead of reassuring. This of course is happening while he is strapping something that hangs over his penis. Anyone who is not typically “white” would not spend fifty-dollars on a pouch attached to Velcro, they would just tuck it into their pants and go on with their lives. What is even “whiter” is that is stupid thing even needs a full tutorial on how to use it. Only a “white” man would feel the need to make an awkward six-minute video detailing how place a gun holster over your penis. The fact that this man is so oblivious to everything awkward is probably the most “white” thing about him. This is a video about putting your hands in your pants and he has absolutely no idea! To add even more “white” qualities he explains that you could wrestle with your kids in the living room wearing it and you will be completely comfortable. Being comfortable is obviously the issue in that statement. Only a white man would play with his kids in his own home wearing a fifty-dollar gun holster down his pants with a loaded gun inside of it. Thu, 10 Mar 2011 20:25:41 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/09/what-would-make-this-guy-less-white/#IDComment133925626 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/is-it-selfish-for-people-in-poverty-to-have-more-kids-because-of-their-lower-income-119-blog/#IDComment130640059 I do not know if I would necessarily call people in poverty with a lot of children “selfish.” No one can know what led Tammy to have four children, for all we know she could have been in a promising relationship and had every intention of getting her teaching degree. On the other hand, Tammy’s pregnancies could have been stemmed from lack of money for contraception. I am in no way in a position to judge someone else’s situation because I really have no clue what events led up their current situation. In this particular case, Tammy came from a family with twenty-two children, so all she ever knew was being apart of a big family. With her four boys, she remains to work hard despite her unfortunate circumstances. She walks ten miles to work every single day to clean a toilet in order to have a stable environment to live in. As Sam said in lecture, Tammy’s father might even be extremely proud of her and how well she has provided for her family in a time of such struggle for her. Sometimes for people it is easy to point fingers and call other people selfish. Again, though, we do not know their whole situation. There does not seem to be a constant man in Tammy’s life and that could have been a factor when she was thinking about having children. It saddens me to see there is so much animosity between Tammy and her son. She clearly loves him but all he is ever doing is putting her down. It’s just a sad situation but this is all Tammy knows. She is not looking for a big house and lavish things, she is happy where she is and she is not ashamed. Her son, on the other hand, clearly hates his home life and is not afraid to tell Tammy he feels this way. For me, the only time I would throw out the word “selfish” is when talking about how Tammy and her son interact with each other. Tammy is selfish for not wanting her son to do better for his life and for not seeing how unhappy he is. Tammy should be pushing her son to do better and to get an education in order to go on and make a successful career for himself. Tammy’s son, though, is selfish also. He goes on and on ragging on his mother about how she does not try and look nice and does not try to better herself. He should, instead, see how hard Tammy works and that while she is not trying to advance her career realistically, she still walks ten miles to work, cleans toilets all day long, and does it all to support herself and her children. Fri, 25 Feb 2011 17:20:30 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/24/is-it-selfish-for-people-in-poverty-to-have-more-kids-because-of-their-lower-income-119-blog/#IDComment130640059 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/21/stranger-kidnapping/#IDComment130377050 A lot of our fears surrounding child abduction have been stemmed for the most part from the media. Sam mentioned on a slide in class that child abduction statistics have not changed or increased throughout the years. Despite this fact, we are more fearful than ever of letting our child out of our sights. While this behavior is understandable because all a parent wants to do is make sure his or her child is safe, maybe there is a bit of overprotection coming from parents. As children we are conditioned to never speak to strangers, ever. Even as a 20-year-old adult I still find myself afraid to speak to strangers in places I don’t know. But what happens is a child finds him or herself lost? I know that as a child I never would have sought out help and would have kept on going around by myself, which is probably more dangerous than finding an adult. The video shown is a perfect example of the media overhyping the possibility of child abduction. If this man attempting to snatch the child really is a rare occurrence, than the news channel might actually be hurting us rather than helping out. The clip continues to show people from the community who are now frightened for their own children and well being. I am not trying to say that these residents should not be on guard, but being in a constant state of fear is not doing much to help out either. People are constantly saying “it used to be so much safer in the past” and that “kids could go wherever they wanted without being in danger.” These statements are just untrue. Today there is the same chance of being abducted as in the past. Because of the media, parents are constantly on guard and in their minds believe that the world is a dangerous place and no one can be trusted. I guess we can also thank Hollywood for implanting that into our brains. Of course being aware should still be encouraged, but we should also teach our children to seek out help if they are lost or feel frightened. Thu, 24 Feb 2011 17:50:01 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/21/stranger-kidnapping/#IDComment130377050 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/09/4092/#IDComment127163239 When reading “Remember” I found myself going through a series of emotions. On the outside, any person can go on about how prisoners deserve what they get but sometimes getting a glimpse into a prisoner’s mind can put things into perspective. I am not saying that I disagree with this man’s sentence, I am saying, though, that I do feel bad for this man who has clearly lost almost every sense of happiness in his life. He starts off his writing listing all of the things he cannot remember: his friends, his family, even the love of his life and best friends are nothing but distant recollections. To think that with one bad decision this man made, he has to spend his life forgetting everything that made him happy and has to linger on the aftermath of his decision. What was most powerful about this reading was the juxtaposition of the loss of his happy memories with the continual presence of his nightmares. The broad memories of his past life are fading yet he can so clearly pinpoint the name and age of the boy he killed, someone he never met. All of the emotions felt by himself and the victim’s family are still fresh in his mind. It is a scary thought that so many inmates in prisons are going through the same exact thing, day after day, year after year. We can argue that the prison system is working and this is exactly what we want to happen to prisoners but I still feel sad. It raises questions like “why should I feel bad for them?” or “do they not deserve this pain and suffering?” I do not want to feel bad for this man but I do. To me is it sad to think that he is suffering a fate that is equivalent to prisoners who committed murder in cold blood. As humans we feel the need to punish others, yet many times we feel bad doing it at the same time. Hopefully if more people are able to read articles like this they can refrain from doing the same thing in the future. People need to know the repercussions of a split second bad decision. We are taught the dangers of drunk driving in school all throughout our lives, but we never get a glimpse into the life of what happens after that decision. Thu, 10 Feb 2011 18:30:22 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/09/4092/#IDComment127163239 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/08/how-have-the-choices-youve-made-and-determinism-affected-your-life-119-blog/#IDComment126847949 Being the youngest daughter of three girls in my family, a lot of my life has been pre-determined for me. When choosing between colleges I always felt the need to live up to my sisters’ accomplishments. Both of my sisters went to prestigious universities and if I did not attend one also then I would be the “failure.” My parents are extremely encouraging and only want the best for me, but there was always that underlying sense that they expected me to achieve just as much as my sisters. Going to college was not an option for me; it was a guarantee. When I chose Penn State it was mainly because it was higher ranked than Boston University and because I was expected to attend a top 50 ranked school just like my sisters (I am extremely happy with my choice by the way!). As Sam said in lecture, most of us do not pay for our schooling by ourselves and therefore we are not making our own choice to attend college. I am included in this group of people. My parents are paying for my undergraduate studies and I have to pay for my graduate schooling. Going to graduate school, though, is still pre-determined for me because both of my sisters went to graduate school, so it is only assumed that I would go also. Pre-determinism of my education, however, does not bother me because if it were not expected of me to go to school then I do not know if I would actually go. I can easily see why many people choose not to go if their families are not encouraging them. My dad grew up in a family with divorced parents and an emotionally abusive mother. The oldest of five boys, he was never encouraged, or even expected to go to college. His future, in many ways, was pre-determined for him to graduate high school and get a job in construction. My father, however, went against what he was expected to do and got an education and started his own business. I feel like my father’s need to make a better life for himself has set the tone in my family. My parents would never want us to have to struggle so they made sure that we grew up knowing we would attend college and that we would go on to work hard and be successful. These expectations of me are these reason that I work so hard and the reason I have always felt the need to go far in life. Because these notions have been engrained in my head since I was in kindergarten, I cannot see myself expecting the same of my children in the future. Pre-determinism has helped and guided me to becoming a stronger, smarter, and more determined person. Wed, 9 Feb 2011 05:09:57 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/08/how-have-the-choices-youve-made-and-determinism-affected-your-life-119-blog/#IDComment126847949 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/30/conformity-rules-the-day/#IDComment126024879 I think that conformity is probably one of the hardest things not to do in our lives. Whether it be something big like conforming in a gang or something small like the video shows of the men in the elevator. Whether we like it or not, we are all striving to be accepted and to fit in with the people around us. We can try to dress differently or do something "out of the norm" but we will always be following some suit or another. Another video Sam showed in class today was about a man in an experiment who despite what he thought, he went along with the answers of all the other participants. The man literally knew the other people were answering wrong, yet he decided to conform and to answer just like the rest of the participants. Yes, it is strange and yes we can all believe we would not do the same thing but we would. We would all make those same decisions because at the end of the day we are all self-conscious and we all have this constant need for approval ingrained inside of us. We see conformity all the time in the news, like a group of teens deciding to commit suicide together or even people conforming to views of Adolf Hitler. Conforming is not always a bad thing, though. Sometimes conforming is what helps us interact in social situations. As children we observe other’s interactions and we conform to what society believes to be “socially acceptable.” Some people may not like conformity, but without it we would not know how to respect each other and how to interact in social situations. Sat, 5 Feb 2011 00:01:26 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/30/conformity-rules-the-day/#IDComment126024879 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/19/rise-in-national-guard-and-reserve-suicides-whats-it-all-about-soc-001-blog/#IDComment124436288 The military is scary. Fighting is scary. The soldiers are so brave. These are thoughts that flash through so many people’s minds on a regular basis when we think about war and our troops. Yes we can go on and on about how brave they are and how we could not possibly imagine doing the task ourselves, but do we ever actually stop and think about it? Do we ever really know what it is like to be as brave as our soldiers? Unless you have served in the military, the answer is “no.” No one can understand the physical and mental abuse the soldiers go through. Being in a strange country at such a young age, away from your family and friends, fighting for your homeland. While I could not imagine the change that happens in a person who goes through this, I do not find it that hard to believe that so many soldiers are resorting to suicide. Many of these soldiers are taking another people’s lives and No matter what the circumstances are it must be such a difficult task to cope with, let alone get over. As the male soldier said in the video, he could not even sleep at night because he did not want to see the images in his head anymore. Being home has clearly been a huge stress to him and then on top of that there is the thought that he could go back to war in the future. It is an extremely frightening thought and it is no surprise that so many soldiers then turn to drugs and alcohol. If they cannot get their mind off of their trip overseas, of course they are going to turn to another source to distract them. And if these vices are not doing the trick to help them forget, the thought of suicide is extremely plausible. I think that with the rise in drug and alcohol use and suicides amongst soldiers, there needs to be more steps taken in order to help our soldiers get back on their feet. At the end of the day, if anyone deserves therapy, the people who risked their lives for our country do. Fri, 28 Jan 2011 23:56:56 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/19/rise-in-national-guard-and-reserve-suicides-whats-it-all-about-soc-001-blog/#IDComment124436288